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President Reagan declared 1983 the Year of the Bible during his address at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., on February 3. Three days earlier, he addressed a session of the National Religious Broadcasters convention on the theme of the Bible. His 21-minute speech was interrupted by applause 15 times.

Christianity Today's March 4, 1983 issue, excerpted the speech. Here it is printed in full.

Thank you all very much, and thank you, Brandt Gustavson. [President of the National Religious Broadcasters]. Ladies and gentlemen, the distinguished guests, thank you all very much.

I had a little problem last night myself with regard to my name. [Laughter] I thought about a week ago that maybe I would persuade someone to change their name from Riggins to Reagan. [Laughter] But after yesterday afternoon, I thought maybe I ought to change my name to his. [Laughter]

You all have an expression among you that—well, first of all, you confess to being poor audiences for others; I haven't found it so. But you also have an expression about preaching to the choir. I don't know just exactly what my address, how that fits under that today, but what a wonderful sight you are.

In a few days I'll be celebrating another birthday, which, according to some in the press, puts me on a par with Moses. [Laughter] That doesn't really bother me, because every year when I come here, when I look out at your warm and caring faces, I get a very special feeling, like being born again.

There's something else I've been noticing. In a time when recession has gripped our land, your industry, religious broadcasting, has enjoyed phenomenal growth. Now, there may be some who are frightened by your success, but I'm not one of them. As far as I'm concerned, the growth of religious broadcasting is one of the most heartening signs in America today.

When we realize that every penny of that growth is being funded voluntarily by citizens of every stripe, we see an important truth. It's something that I have been speaking of for quite some time—that the American people are hungry for your message, because they're hungry for a spiritual revival in this land. When Americans reach out for values of faith, family, and caring for the needy, they're saying, "We want the word of God. We want to face the future with the Bible.''

Facing the future with the Bible—that's a perfect theme for your convention. You might be happy to hear that I have some "good news'' of my own. Thursday morning, at the National Prayer Breakfast, I will sign a proclamation making 1983 the Year of the Bible.

We're blessed to have its words of strength, comfort, and truth. I'm accused of being simplistic at times with some of the problems that confront us. But I've often wondered: Within the covers of that single Book are all the answers to all the problems that face us today, if we'd only look there. "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever.'' I hope Americans will read and study the Bible in 1983. It's my firm belief that the enduring values, as I say, presented in its pages have a great meaning for each of us and for our nation. The Bible can touch our hearts, order our minds, refresh our souls.

Now, I realize it's fashionable in some circles to believe that no one in government should order or encourage others to read the Bible. Encourage—I shouldn't have said order. We're told that will violate the constitutional separation of church and state established by the Founding Fathers in the first amendment.

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June (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48